The recent hurricanes are behind us, and hopefully we can close the hurricane season without any more damage to the Caribbean. The Florida Keys will come back, but the Caribbean islands have a lot of work ahead, as does Puerto Rico.

If you like sailing and charter vacations, no doubt you have done some cruising in the British Virgin Islands. The BVIs represent about 70 percent of the world's charter business, and the area got clobbered by Hurricane Irma. Beyond the many images of shattered charter fleets, which are hopefully all insured, the loss of housing and basic infrastructure for the BVI residents was significant and will take time to rebuild.

I notice many people on social media inquire about how best to help those in need, but are reluctant to just donate through the dozens of sites that pop up after every disaster. Who knows which are truly legitimate...

The marine industry, and particularly the sailing community, wants to help. So the Annapolis Boat Shows, Annapolis Waterfront Hotel, and Pusser's Caribbean Grille will host a Hurricane Relief Party on the first day of the United States Sailboat Show this Thursday, October 5th.

Billed as the Donor Appreciation Party, everyone is invited to donate $75 or more, and attend a party with free food and drinks, selecting which hurricane relief organization(s) you want to support. Annapolis Boat Shows is picking up the tab for the party, and wants to show the sailing community's support for the stricken areas. I was told these relief organizations have been fully vetted by the Annapolis Boat Shows' management, so we can be assured the money goes to the relief efforts.

Event organizers have pledged $5,000 as a challenge to match or exceed individual donations.

If you plan to be in Annapolis for the show, the party begins at 6pm when the show closes on the first day.

But if you can't make the party, you can still donate to this worthy cause, supported by a number of marine and related companies.

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